One piece hinged case



Feb-10, 1959 H. JANSON ONE PIECE HINGED CASE Filed Aug. 28, 1957 I N VEN TOR. Harry Jansen BY 7 z a A TTORNEY I United States Patent 2,873,058 ONE PIECE HINGED CASE Harry Janson, Bronxville, N. Y.

Application August 28, 1957, Serial No. 680,694

8 Claims. (Cl. 229-27) This invention relates to paper or the like cases and particularly to the type known as hard pack packages wherein the container is of one piece and is relatively rigid.

The present invention contemplates the provision of l a container or case preferably of a single sheet of paper and adapted for economical and eflicient formation and filling with its contents by suitable automatic machinery, the case being of the general form of a cigarette case having two similar halves pivoted together. and each adapted to hold cigarettes or other suitable articles.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a one piece paper case of two halves, each half having a pocket to hold the rear ends of cigarettes under slight pressure and thereby to prevent them from accidentally moving about after one or more cigarettes have been extracted, any loose tobacco falling out of the cigarettes being retained within the pockets until the empty case is discarded.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a strong reinforced one piece case witha simple inexpensive closure, having a double hinge of two thicknesses of material between the pivoted halves thereof, and adapted to be inexpensively made and filled.

The various objects of the invention will be clear from the description which follows and from the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the blank from which the case is made, showing the slits, slots and fold lines thereof.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the case as it appears when opened at the hinge completely and filled, certain parts being broken away to show the underlying structure.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing in dash-dot lines the position assumed by the upper half of the case when the case is closed.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary'perspective view of the rear part of the case as it appears when not fully open, and showing the pockets for the rear ends of the cigarettes or other articles.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the closed case showing the cooperating front closure flaps.

In the practical embodiment of the invention shown by way of example, the blank of relatively stiif paper or the like material has the transverse score or fold line 11 about midway between the ends of the blank, dividing the blank into two quite similar halves and serving as a hinge line about which the halves pivot when the case is opened and closed. The rear wall 12 of the upper half 13 is bounded at its bottom by the score or fold line 14 parallel to the hinge line 11. Similarly, the similar score or fold line 14a determines the height of the rear wall 12a of the lower half of the case. Beyond the respective score lines 14 and 14a are the main walls 15 and 15a of the respective upper and lower halves, the wall 15 being confined at the sides by and between the longitudinal score lines 16 and 17 and constituting the top wall of the case, while thewall 15a, arranged between the corresponding score lines 16a and 17a, constitutes the bottom wall of the case. The transverse score or fold lines 18 and 18a near the ends of the blank determine the heights of the respective closure flaps 19 and 19a of the case halves. Formed between the parallel longitudinal score lines 16 and 21 at the sides of the blank is the side wall 20, the opposite side wall 22 being formed between the similar lines 17 and 23. In the lower half of the case, the side walls 20a and 22a are similar to the respective walls 20 and 22 and are similarly formed.

Corner securing flaps are provided on the blank to seal all the upright corners, to reinforce said corners and adequately to secure the upright walls together without material waste of material such as paper. As shown, the flaps 24, 25 for the upper half, and flaps 24a, 25a for the lower half extend transversely from the ends of, and are of slightly lower height than that of, the respective closure, flaps 19 and 19a and the side walls. To form said flaps, narrow transverse slots as 26, 27 and 26a, 27a forming extensions of the respective fold lines 18, 18a, extend from the lines 16 and 17 respectively, to the respective side edges of the blank. The outer parts of the slots 26 and 27 are somewhat widened for closure locking purposes as will later be more fully described. Similar corner flaps 28, 28a extend from the rear walls 14 and 14a at the right hand side of the blank as viewed in Fig. 1 and are formed by the transverse slots 29, 29a and the slit 29b therebetween. However, at the left hand side, the correspondingly arranged flaps 30, 30a are somewhat shorter owing to the provision of the combined pocketforming wall and hinge member 31 as an integral part of the blank. Said wall 31 is severed from the flaps 30, 30a by the longitudinal slit 32, said flaps being separated from each other by the transverse slit 30b forming a continuation of the hinge line 11.

One longitudinal leg of the L-shaped slot 33 extends along the fold line 21a while the other transverse leg is an extension of the fold line 14a. The wall 31 is therefore integrally joined to the side edge of the blank. The left hand side edge of the main part of the blank is spaced transversely away from the fold line 21a a sufficient distance to form a rim flap 35 extending inwardly from the top edge of the side wall 20 of the upper half of the case, and a similar flap 35a at the lower half. Similar rim flaps 36, 36a extend respectively from the slot 27 to the slot 29 for the upper half and from the slot 29a to the slot 27a for the lower half. The pocket-forming wall 31 itself forms part of the rim flap 35 and overlaps the rim flap 35a in the completed case as will soon appear. To separate the Wall 31 from the flap 35a and thereby to permit the overlap thereof, the slit 37 is made across said flap as an extension of the lower edge of the wall 31.

When the case is employed as a cigarette package, half of the cigarettes are laid on each Wall 15 and 15a at any stage of the formation of the case found most convenient, but preferably before the wall 31 is folded over and secured in place. The corner securing fiaps 24, 25, 24a, 25a, 28, 28a and 30, 30a are bent about their respective fold lines to a position wherein they are perpendicular to the remainder of the blank. The locking or closure flaps 19 and 19a and the side flaps 20, 20a, 22 and 22a are folded to upright positions about the lines 18, 18a, 16, 16a, 17 and 17a respectively, being then perpendicular to the walls 15 and 15a, the rear walls 12 and 12a being joined by the hinge line 11 and being brought into contact with each other. In this position, the locking corner side walls 20, 20a, 17 or 17a as the case may be, to form.

3 the two container halves. However, the rear walls 14 and 14a are not secured to each other otherwise than integrally at the hinge, thereby permitting said walls and the halves 13 and 1341 to pivotally swing relatively to each other about the hinge line 11.

When the rear walls are brought into contact by folding them about the line 11, that end of the flap 35a adjacent the slit 37 is carried under or behind the Wall 31 to overlap said wall. While the rear walls 14 and 14a remain in contact, the wall 31 and its connected flap 35 are swung about the line 21 and all the rim flaps are folded into a position parallel to the walls 15 and 15a. The free end of the wall 31 is adhesively secured underneath the rim flaps 17 and 17a and the unsecured part of the other hinged end of said wall 31 is cemented to the overlapping portion of the flap 35a to complete the case as well as the pockets 38 and 38a thereof.

To provide a simple friction closure for the halves, the projecting portion of one of the closure flaps as 19 is tilted or bent slightly to extend outwardly (Figs. 3 and and away from the projecting portion of the cooperating closure flap 19a which may be tilted slightly inwardly. The projecting portions 39, 39a of the closure flaps pass each other and engage frictionally to maintain the case closed until it is deliberately opened. In addition, the flap projection 39a frictionally engages and presses upon the corresponding ends of the rim flaps 35 and 36 as said projection enters the widened parts of the slots 26 and 27 and is gripped between said ends and the inner surface of the flap 19. A readily openable friction closure capable of repeated use is thus inexpensively attained.

When the case is used for cigarettes, the pockets 38, 38a formed between the walls 31, 15 and 15a are of slightly less height than the diameter of the cigarettes. For this purpose, the flaps 20, 22, 20a, and 22a are made not quite as high as the cigarettes which go into the pockets. Consequently, the wall 31 cooperates with the walls 15 and 15a to exert pressure on the cigarettes inserted therebetween, thereby to'resist movement of even a single cigarette remaining in the pocket after all the others have been withdrawn. Such maintenance of the cigarettes in place avoids most of the loss of tobacco from the ends thereof.

If desired, the wall 31 may be adhesively secured to the container portions 13 and 13a at the common hinge line 11 thereof. Whether so secured or not, said wall preferably extends across both pockets or compartments of the case, and serves, when secured to the rim flanges or flaps, to prevent any relative movement of the container portions other than pivotal movement should the corner flaps 28, 28a and 30, 30a be omitted or fail to hold properly. By arranging the wall 31 underneath the rim flanges of the case parts, the thickness of said wall does not interfere with the closing close together of the container portions 13 and 13a. The arrangement described permits the rim flange or flap 35 to come into close contact with the flange 35a, and the flange 36 to come into similar close contact with the flange 36a.

It will be understood that the case is well adapted for use with articles other than cigarettes by merely proportioning the dimensions thereof according to the article to be held. Personal articles of toiletry such as a vanity compact, mirror, lip stick, powder puff and utilitarian articles such as pencil, pads, keys and the like are easily provided for and maintained against rattling about by proper design and if required, subdivision of the compartments.

While acertain specific form of the invention has herein been shown and described, various obvious changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A one piece paper case comprising an upper case half and a lower half, a rear wall on each half adjacent the rear wall of the other half and pivoted thereto along a common fold line, a pair of opposed side walls on each half, a rim flap on each side wall extending inwardly from an edge of the side wall toward the opposite side wall, a top wall on the upper half, a bottom wall on the lower half, and a pocket-forming wall secured to the rim flaps in substantially parallel relation to the top and bottom walls to form a pocket in each half, the pocket-forming wall having a fold line dividing said wall into two parts, one for each half, said fold line being in registration with the common fold line of the rear walls.

2. The case of claim 1 and a front closure flap on each half cooperating with the closure flap of the other half to hold the halves frictionally in closed position, the heights of the closure flaps being greater than that of the side walls.

3. The case of claim 1, the pocket-forming wall being integrally connected at one end thereof with, and forming part of, the rim flap of one of the halves.

4. The case of claim 2, and corner securing flaps integral with and extending from the ends of the closure flaps and secured to the adjacent side walls.

5. A paper case comprising two halves pivoted together along a transverse rear hinge line, reinforcing opposed side rim flaps on each half, and a pocket-forming wall extending across both halves and secured to the rim flaps, and cooperating front closure flaps, one on each of the halves, the closure flaps being of greater height that that of the remainder of each half, the closure flap of one half entering a space between, and frictionally engaging the front end of, a rim flap of the other half and the closure flap of said other half.

6. The case of claim 5, the pocket-forming wall having a fold line registering with the rear hinge line and cooperating with the rear walls of the halves to form a hinge of two thicknesses of material.

7. The case of claim 5, the case including the pocketforming Wall being of a single sheet of paper, the pocketforming wall extending from the hinge line part way toward both closure flaps and being foldable about a fold line thereof in registration with the hinge line.

8. A case from a one piece blank, said case comprising a pair of similar halves pivoted together along a rear hinge line, each half having opposed side rim flaps, and a pocket-forming member extending away from the hinge line in both directions and between the rear parts of the rim flaps of both halves and integral with the rear part of the rim flap of one half, said member being foldable on itself at the hinge line and cooperating with the halves to form a hinge of two thicknesses of material, each half having a front closure flap of greater height than that of the remainder of the half, the closure flap of one half entering a space between and frictionally engaging the closure flap and the rim flap of the other half.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Payne et a1 Aug. 9, 1938 

